Although online sales are growing at a rate of 19.5 percent year-on-year, the majority of retail purchases still occur in bricks and mortar stores.

Many pure play eCommerce businesses have demonstrated that the physical shopping experience cannot be matched online. Amazon trialed six physical bookstores and six more are on the way this year thanks to their success. Farfetch has begun digitising the in-store experience via a “Store of the Future” platform which records customers’ likes and dislikes to provide sales assistants with the information they need in order to offer a more ‘tailored’ service in-store.

Consumers are becoming more accustomed to, and demanding of, the convenience of shopping online. As a result, physical stores must shape up and turn to technology to keep customers satisfied and continue to drive footfall in an age of increasing financial pressures when it comes to hanging on to trophy bricks and mortar.

Using technology to create an ultimate in-store experience

There are several ways in which bricks and mortar stores can use technology to drive customer loyalty. Driving loyalty often accrues to streamlining their shopping experience from before they even set foot in the store until after they’ve made the purchase.

Enticing customers to your store:

• Reward repeat customers: Everybody loves a deal. By tracking customers who have shopped with you in the past (via a mailing list, loyalty programme, phone number or even offering free Wifi), you can reach out to them with a meaningful discount that can only be redeemed in-store.

• Promote exclusive events on social media: With around 40% of customers getting inspiration for their purchases from social media sites, why not promote the launch of a new collection via appropriate social media channels and treat your customers to a goodie-bag when they turn up to the event in-store? This will demonstrate a little appreciation for their custom that goes a long way.

“They’re here, now what?”:

• Personalise the experience: Brands such as Armani have used interactive retail stands to tell customers more about a product they have picked up. If this is a little too high-tech, arming store staff with iPads can help turn them into personalized assistants. A report conducted by PwC found that “sales associates with a deep knowledge of the product range” is the most important factor for a customer’s shopping experience. Don’t take the risk that your store staff are not experts on what they are selling. Ensure they are positioning complementary products at the optimum time.

• Keep track of your customer: Beacons, which communicate to smartphones using Bluetooth, and mobile apps allow you to track your customer and help you tailor your marketing campaign as they shop in-store - not after the fact.

• Let them know about the happy ending: For effective upselling, your store staff need to begin conversations with your customers before they reach the register. Even a friendly chat about their weekend plans can create opportunities for positioning additional services. Best friend’s birthday is on Saturday? “Let’s gift wrap that for you.” Not sure you can pull off coral peep-toes? “No problem, returns are a breeze.” Unsure what to wear to this year’s Christmas bash? “Our personal shopper will help you nail your outfit.”

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At and beyond the till:

• Keep payments simple: Between one-click ordering and fingerprint-enabled purchases, customers have been spoiled for choice when it comes to easy ways to transact. With cash predicted to only account for one in four payments by 2025, make sure your store offers contactless payments for a frictionless checkout experience.

• Offer additional services: Customers appreciate a one-stop-shop, where everything can happen in one place. Whether that’s enabling online orders for items that aren’t in store, offering a tailoring service or even free returns, a hassle-free shopping experience that keeps their satisfaction front and centre of mind is what will keep customers coming back.

• Use fulfilment as a conversion device: With convenient delivery trumping brand loyalty, it is important that your customers are offered delivery options that are in line with their lifestyles. That means no ambiguous, 8-hour long delivery timeslots where your customer is kept in the dark with respect to their delivery. Empower your customers to choose where and when they want their deliveries, and watch your conversions increase.

Technology, when applied intelligently in a bricks and mortar setting, can help you provide your customers a more ‘tailored’ feeling end-to-end shopping experience, offering them peace of mind as they shop in-store. It can also be a very powerful tool to help your brand stay on top of what marketing strategies customers are responding well to, thereby increasing your sales.